Drinking-cup for beverage consumption, and use for tasting champagne

ABSTRACT

A drinking-cup placed on a bottle containing a beverage to be consumed. The drinking-cup has a hollow body pierced by a beverage intake, an air intake, and a mouth, and defined by a wall with an annular cross-section enclosing an axis. A closure wall is arranged obliquely relative to the axis. The air intake and the mouth are in respective connecting zones and form an open angle and a closed angle between the wall having an annular cross-section and the closure wall. The wall with an annular cross-section is a surface of rotation and flares out at some distance from the beverage intake. A mid-plane connecting the air intake to the mouth forms, with the axis, an angle not less than 30 degrees. The cup is particularly applicable to champagne tasting.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to the field of accessories forconsumption of beverages, and in particular of sparkling wines andchampagne.

More precisely, the invention relates to a drinking cup that allows abeverage to be consumed directly from a container holding it, this cupbeing intended to be fitted in a removable manner on the container, andforming a hollow body penetrated by a beverage inlet centered on anaxis, an air inlet, and a mouth opening, this hollow body having a wallwith an annular cross section surrounding the axis and a closing wall,connected to the wall with annular cross section obliquely with respectto the axis, the air inlet and the mouth opening being respectivelyrelatively near and relatively far from the beverage inlet in an axialdirection, and one or both of the air inlet and the mouth opening beingcontiguous to the wall to annular cross section and to the closing wall.

BACKGROUND

A drinking cup of the type to which the invention relates is described,for example, in the patent document U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,970.

More generally, numerous types of end fittings intended to facilitatebeverage consumption are known, as evidenced in particular by the patentdocuments FR-2 222 976, CH-649 511, DE-U-299 17 965, DE-30 17 789, U.S.Pat. No. 3,085,710, FR-2 657 846, GB-505 207 and DE-26 41 874.

Two specific problems arise in the design of such end fittings when theyare intended to allow one to taste sparkling wines or champagne directlyfrom a container such as a bottle, that is to say, without the use of aglass.

The first problem relates to the regulation of the known phenomenon, inthe case of champagne, of considerable foam formation produced by themore or less abrupt manipulation of the bottle.

In effect, after opening a bottle, the champagne contained therein,because of the decompression it undergoes, can spontaneously form moreor less abundant foam, in particular in the event of impact, and canthus produce an overflow of the liquid out of the bottle.

It is therefore necessary to control this overflow in order to makepossible consumption of the sparkling beverage, such as a spackling wineor champagne, directly from the container holding it, in particular abottle, without risk to the consumer or to those around him of beingsprayed with it.

The second problem relates to the quality of the taste of the beverage,and in particular of the champagne, in spite of the absence of a glass.

In effect, under conventional tasting conditions, not only does the actof pouring the champagne into a glass release a part of its gaseouscharge, but also the glass offers the champagne contained in it an openand relatively large volume that fosters regulation of the loss of gas.

In the case in which champagne is drunk directly from the bottle, it istherefore also necessary to control the formation of foam, generated inparticular by the inclination of the bottle, in order to allow itscontents to be consumed under satisfactory conditions from the tastingstandpoint.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In this context, the invention aims to propose a drinking cup that isparticularly well suited to consumption of a sparkling beverage,particularly sparkling wine or champagne, and which meets therequirements mentioned in the preceding.

For this purpose, the drinking cup of the invention, includes a wallwith an annular cross section that is a surface of revolution, flaringout at a distance from the beverage inlet, wherein a mid-plane joiningthe air inlet to the mouth opening forms an angle with the axis that is,at most, 60 degrees.

Preferably, the air inlet and the mouth opening are both contiguous tothe wall of annular cross section and to the closing wall.

The air inlet and/or the mouth opening can each be formed by a slot madein the closing wall, this slot advantageously being curved and having aconcavity facing away from the axis.

In order to increase the effectiveness of control of the spray, theangle formed by the mid-plane joining the air inlet with the mouthopening is preferably between 30 and 60 degrees, and is preferably 50degrees.

Furthermore, the wall with annular cross section advantageously has aflaring out that decreases with increasing distance from the beverageinlet, with it being possible for this flaring out to be followed by anarrowing to form a basin in the wall capable of collecting a certainvolume of beverage.

The drinking cup of the invention is advantageously produced at leastpartially out of a flexible material, which can be fitted tightly on thecontainer.

The drinking cup of the invention is ideally applicable to tasting abottled beverage, in particular champagne, with the beverage inlet ofthe cup being fitted on the neck of the bottle.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emergeclearly from the description of it given in the following, in anindicative and non-limiting way, with reference to the appended drawingsin which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view in median axial section of a drinking cup according toa first embodiment of the invention, this section being along I—I ofFIG. 2, and with the cup being represented after having been fitted on abottle;

FIG. 2 is an external front view of the cup illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an external side view of the cup illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the cup illustrated in FIG. 1, this cup beingobserved perpendicularly to the mid-plane P marked in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating a drinking cupaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a view in median axial section of the cup illustrated in FIG.5, this section being along VI—VI of FIG. 5, and with the cup beingrepresented after having been fitted on a bottle;

FIG. 7 is a view in axial section of a cup produced from a flexiblematerial, and which is represented in the process of being used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As stated in the preceding, the drinking cup of the invention isintended to be fitted in a removable manner on bottle B containing abeverage to be consumed, such as champagne, in order to allow thisbeverage to be consumed without a glass, in a controlled manner.

As shown particularly in FIGS. 1 and 6, this cup 1 takes the form of ahollow body that is penetrated by beverage inlet 10, air inlet 11, andmouth opening 12 which the consumer places in his mouth.

In use, beverage inlet 10 of the cup is centered on axis of symmetry Xof bottle B and of its neck G.

The interior volume of this cup is delimited by wall 2 with annularcross section that surrounds axis X, and by closing wall 3 that, withthe exception of air inlet 11 and mouth opening 12, is connected in asealed manner to wall 2 with annular cross section.

As shown in particular in FIGS. 1 and 6, closing wall 3 is in factconnected to wall 2 with annular cross section according to an obliqueangle of incidence with respect to axis X, so that in the plane of thesefigures, walls 2 and 3 form between them, relatively farther frombeverage inlet 10 measured along an axial direction D, a relativelyclosed angle J, and, relatively closer to beverage inlet 10, arelatively open angle K.

Air inlet 11 is formed in the zone of connection of walls 2 and 3 wherethese walls form between them the open angle K, whereas mouth opening 12is formed in the zone of connection of walls 2 and 3 where these wallsform between then the closed angle J.

According to a first aspect of the invention, wall 2 with annular crosssection is a surface of revolution that flares out some distance frombeverage inlet 10, so that the foam formed by the beverage coming out ofneck G of bottle B can be spent while spreading out.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the mid-plane P (FIG. 1)that joins air inlet 11 with mouth opening 12 forms, with axis X, anangle A that is at most 60 degrees, thereby opposing expansion of thefoam by the presence of a solid screen that allows it to collapse.

Even more advantageously, the angle A formed by the mid-plane P joiningair inlet 11 with mouth opening 12 is between 30 and 60 degrees, and ispreferably equal to 50 degrees, this inclined position of plane Ppromoting collapsing of the foam.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, air inlet 11 and mouthopening 12 are both contiguous to the wall 2 with annular cross sectionand to closing wall 3, each of these openings being formed by a slot inthe edge of closing wall 3.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, each of the slots thusforming air inlet 11 and mouth opening 12 is curved, and has a concavityfacing away from axis X.

As shown furthermore in FIGS. 1 and 6, closing wall 3 can be at leastapproximately made up of a portion of a cylinder of large radius andhave a slight concavity facing away from beverage inlet 10.

The ideal form of the drinking cup is obtained by giving wall 2 withannular cross section, at least locally, a flaring that decreases alongthe axial direction D (FIGS. 1, 3 and 6) moving from beverage inlet 10towards closing wall 3.

In other words, angle C in FIG. 3, formed by axis X and tangent T towall 2 with annular cross section at any point of this wall, becomessmaller as the distance separating this point from beverage inlet 10,measured along axis X, increases.

Angle C, assumed to be oriented, can even become negative close to mouthopening 12, the flaring out of the cup being therefore followed by anarrowing, forming a basin in wall 2 capable of collecting a certainvolume of beverage.

The drinking cup of the invention can be made up of one or morematerials, at least one of which can be a thermoplastic polymer, and canbe produced at least partially by molding.

FIGS. 1 to 6 illustrate in a non-limiting manner the case with whichwalls 2 and 3 are produced out of a material that is rigid at roomtemperature.

In this case, the cup of the invention preferably has flexible joint 4,for example, made from an elastomeric material, making it possible tofit beverage inlet 10 of the cup tightly on neck G of bottle B.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, joint 4 can be in the form of a sleeve so asto surround neck G at least partially, and to penetrate partially intowall 2 with annular cross section (FIG. 1) or to be arranged in its base20 (FIGS. 5 and 6).

In the latter case, cut-outs 21 are advantageously provided in base 20to make elastic deformation of this base and mounting of the cup on neckG possible.

However, it is also possible to reduce flexible joint 4 to a singlewasher resting in a sealed manner on an internal flange such as 22 ofwall 2, with it being then possible for the cup to be held on neck G bycut-outs such as 21 made in base 20 of wall 2.

The use of joint 4 can even prove superfluous if the manufacturingtolerances of the bottles used are sufficiently exacting, or if the cupis produced of a flexible material, for example, food-qualitypolypropylene.

FIG. 7 illustrates a drinking cup of precisely this type, in the processof being used by a consumer.

As indicated in the preceding, the drinking cup of the invention isideally applicable to the tasting of a beverage in bottle B, inparticular champagne. The explanation is the following.

In a first step, the bottle is uncorked normally, and the cup of theinvention is attached onto neck G of the bottle. Under normalconditions, there is no untimely production of foam.

In a second step, the consumer inclines the whole formed by the bottleand the cup and brings the latter to his mouth at the site of mouthopening 12. At this time, the liquid leaves the bottle and runs over theinternal surface of wall 2, and this is also the time during which alarge quantity of foam can be produced, which is capable of filling theinterior volume of the device and even escaping of through opening 11then situated in high position.

The foam that hits the internal surface of wall 3 breaks up, and theliquid that forms runs in the direction of mouth opening 12.

The foam that possibly escaped through opening 11 falls back and breaksup on the external surface of wall 3, and the liquid which forms runsover this external surface also in the direction of mouth opening 12.

It should be noted that the device of the invention is particularlysuited to tasting champagne and sparkling wines whose pressure (on theorder of 2.5 to 5 kg) is much greater than the pressure of othersemi-sparkling beverages, such as sodas or beer, which generally doesnot exceed 1 kg.

1. A drinking cup for consuming a beverage directly from a containerholding the beverage, comprising: a hollow body penetrated by a beverageinlet centered on an axis, an air inlet, and a mouth opening, the hollowbody having a wall with an annular cross section surrounding the axis,and a closing wall connected to the wall with an annular cross section,oblique with respect to the axis, and having the air inlet and the mouthopening, respectively relatively near and relatively far from thebeverage inlet in an axial direction, the air inlet and the mouthopening being contiguous to the wall with an annular cross section andto the closing wall, wherein the wall with an annular cross section is asurface of revolution which flares outward from the beverage inlet, anda mid-plane joining the air inlet to the mouth opening forms, with theaxis, an angle which is, at most, 60 degrees.
 2. The drinking cupaccording to claim 1, wherein the air inlet and the mouth opening areboth contiguous to the wall with an annular cross section and to theclosing wall.
 3. The drinking cup according to claim 1, wherein the airinlet is slot in the closing wall.
 4. The drinking cup according toclaim 3, wherein the slot forming the air inlet is curved and has aconcavity facing away from the axis.
 5. The drinking cup according toclaim 3, wherein the mouth opening is a slot in the closing wall.
 6. Thedrinking cup according to claim 5, wherein the slot forming the mouthopening is curved and has a concavity facing away from the axis.
 7. Thedrinking cup according to claim 1, wherein the closing wall has aconcavity facing away from the beverage inlet.
 8. The drinking cupaccording to claim 1, wherein the angle formed by the mid-plane joiningthe air inlet with the mouth opening is between 30 and 60 degrees. 9.The drinking cup according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the wallwith an annular cross section flares outward and flaring of the walldecreases with increasing distance from the beverage inlet.
 10. Thedrinking cup according to claim 9, wherein the flaring of the surface ofthe wall with an annular cross section is followed by a narrowing of thesurface.
 11. The drinking cup according to claim 1, made at leastpartially of a flexible material, which can be fitted onto a containerto form a seal.